Recently widowed, she imagined how her own kids were about to be orphans. Still, she wouldn't leave until all the kids had escaped.

"I stepped off, and it hit right away," she said.

The 60-car train T-boned the gray charter bus and blew out its windows.

The train ground to a halt a few yards away, dragging the bus with it. The train had been traveling 40 mph before the engineer began to brake. Its speed at the time of the crash remained unclear late Friday.

Five students and one adult were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry C. Coggins Jr., an agency spokesman. The injuries were mostly from the rush to get off the bus and from flying debris.

The bus driver, Scott H. Short, 31, could not be reached for comment. The bus had stalled twice before the crash, including once at a traffic light.

The 42 students and their four chaperones from Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill were westbound on State Road 50, returning from Medieval Times, a restaurant and 11th-century joust venue.

Christina Bardis was one of the chaperones for the trip with her son, Devon Hernandez.

"He wouldn't leave without me. I told him, `Just get off,' but he said he wanted to be here with me," Bardis said.

Representatives from Annett Bus Lines could not be reached for comment Friday evening.